For seven seasons, fans have tuned in to The Good Doctor to watch Dr. Shaun Murphy (Freddie Highmore), a surgeon with Autism and Savant syndrome, solves baffling medical mysteries at St. Bonaventure Hospital in San Jose, along with the rest of the hospital staff. The series follows Shaun’s ups and downs, both personal and professional. It has been a consistent hit for ABC since it premiered in 2017 and was based on a South Korean series of the same name. In 2024, it was announced that the seventh season would be the show’s last.
Some episodes of The Good Doctor stand out thanks to compelling storylines, from complicated medical cases to interpersonal drama between hospital staff. At its best, the show can be both heartfelt and humorous, balancing life-and-death situations with lighthearted subplots, with impressive performances from the cast, Highmore especially. But it can also be intense and emotional, with complex cases that don’t always have a happy ending and take an immense emotional toll on Shaun and his colleagues.
“Claire” (Season 3, Episode 3)
IMDb Score: 8.5/10
This episode is mostly about Claire Browne. She’s nervous because she’s about to lead her first surgery, and she tells Dr. Lim, who tells her not to talk like that and reassures her everything will go smoothly.
This episode dives deeper into Claire’s character and her struggle as a beginning surgeon. While it’s more emotional and heartfelt, there are still some cheerful moments.
“Point Three Percent” (Season 1, Episode 5)
IMDb Score: 8.5
Many patients are experiencing severe allergic reactions and the doctors can’t figure out the source. Meanwhile, Dr. Murphy notices a patient who looks strikingly like his dead brother, Steve. He sees the boy has an arm injury and orders a CT and discovers later that the boy has cancer. Shaun tells the boy’s parents and they say they already knew about the diagnosis and that they are afraid to tell their son. Shaun is confused and says he deserves to know about his health.
“Hurt” (Season 3, Episode 19)
IMDb Score: 8.6
This is the first part of the two-part season finale of Season 3. An earthquake hit the city of San Jose which is on a fault line. The hospital is jarred by the experience and the staff rush to ensure the safety of their colleagues and patients. However, Dr. Neil Melendez and Dr. Aaron Glassman are at a charity event and feel the effects of the earthquake a lot more, and are put in life-threatening danger.
“Friends and Family” (Season 3, Episode 10)
IMDb Score: 8.6
Ethan Murphy, Dr. Shaun’s father is on his deathbed and wants to see his son one last time. Doctors Mendez, Park, Reznick, and Browne attend to a high school football player who is suffering from a severe spinal injury which leads Dr. Browne to start addressing her mental health.
“Unconditional” (Season 7, Episode 9)
IMDb Score: 8.7/10
Dr. Claire Browne returns from her trip to Guatemala, but her delightful return is hindered by her breast cancer diagnosis. Dr. Glassman is still struggling with Hannah who is unresponsive to any attempts at help. On the bright side, Dr. Alex Park and Morgan Reznick search for a place to have an impromptu wedding.
“Burnt Food” (Season 1, Episode 1)
IMDb Score: 8.6/10
Audiences were introduced to Dr. Shaun Murphy and the staff of San Jose’s St. Bonaventure Hospital in the series premiere “Burnt Food.” As Shaun was on his way to his first day of work, he stopped to help a young boy who was injured by a piece of glass. Meanwhile, the rest of the hospital staff had concerns about Murphy, and his only defender was Dr. Glassman, his longtime friend and mentor.
“Faces” (Season 2, Episode 14)
IMDb Score: 8.6/10
In “Faces,” Dr. Andrews successfully talked a grieving mother into donating her teenage daughter’s face to another young girl whose own face was disfigured in an accident involving a gun, and the team took on the daunting procedure of the transplant. It was based on a real – although rare – procedure. Meanwhile, Shaun took a vacation day to check on Glassman, and the two took some of Glassman’s CBD-laced nausea pills.
‘Quarantine, Pt. 2’ (Season 2, Episode 11)
IMDb Score: 8.7/10
At the conclusion of a two-part episode, the mid-season premiere, “Quarantine” had the hospital still quarantined due to a deadly virus, with parts of the hospital shut off from the others to contain the virus. The chaos and noise in the emergency room overwhelmed Shaun, and Lim’s life was in danger after catching the virus. Meanwhile, the situation posed challenges for Melendez and Claire as they worked to complete a bone-marrow transplant.
